Travel restrictions block Vietnam from League of Legends World Championship 2021

By Hoang Nguyen September 9, 2021 | 11:27 pm PT

The final of League of Legends World Championship 2020. Photo by Riot Games

Vietnam Championship Series (VCS) won't send any teams to League of Legends (LoL) World Championship 2021 due to Covid-19 travel restrictions.

"Unfortunately, due to travel restrictions, the two teams from the VCS will not be able to attend. We will continue to work with our trusted partners to explore every option to get a VCS representative to MSI 2022," Riot Games said.

When Riot pivoted the tournament’s venue from China to Iceland, teams from Vietnam faced difficulties in acquiring the necessary visas.

VCS hasn’t been able to send teams to the last two international tournaments - LoL World Championship 2020 and 2021 Mid-Season Invitational, also due to travel restrictions caused by Covid-19.

This comes after the cancellation of VCS Summer Split in August because of the pandemic in Vietnam and contract issues between Garena, LoL publisher in Vietnam and Riot Games.

Without Vietnam, LoL World Championship will host 22 teams from around the globe competing across three stages: Play-Ins, Groups and Knockouts. All games will take place in Laugardalsholl Arena in Reykjavik, Iceland from Oct. 5 to Nov. 6.